Atlantic Ocean circulation nearing ‘devastating’ tipping point, study finds. Collapse in system of currents that helps regulate global climate would be at such speed that adaptation would be impossible

by Wagamaga

8 comments

  1. The circulation of the Atlantic Ocean is heading towards a tipping point that is “bad news for the climate system and humanity”, a study has found.
    The scientists behind the research said they were shocked at the forecast speed of collapse once the point is reached, although they said it was not yet possible to predict how soon that would happen

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    Using computer models and past data, the researchers developed an early warning indicator for the breakdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc), a vast system of ocean currents that is a key component in global climate regulation.
    They found Amoc is already on track towards an abrupt shift, which has not happened for more than 10,000 years and would have dire implications for large parts of the world.
    Amoc, which encompasses part of the Gulf Stream and other powerful currents, is a marine conveyer belt that carries heat, carbon and nutrients from the tropics towards the Arctic Circle, where it cools and sinks into the deep ocean. This churning helps to distribute energy around the Earth and modulates the impact of human-caused global heating

  2. This should be the top news. Governments are acting like a deer in the head lights.

  3. I distinctly remember a movie not long age and all the experts commenting that there was no way the transitions could happen that quickly. Now it’s not moving as fast as the movie of course but it’s not looking like it’s going to take generations either.

  5. I’m not saying that I’m rooting for it. I’m not. I am saying that we were warned, and humans have no right to complain. I’m equal parts sad for our species and every other that will perish from the consequences, and 100% certain that the planet will simply reset, regenerate its ecosystem, and carry on without us. Easy peasy. (And hey, every single person reading this now was 100% gonna die by some unfortunate cause or another. That’s the bargain we strike from the day we’re born.)

  7. The thing is, nobody will take this seriously enough as they feel it’s the scientists and not the corporate executives who are the problematic “elite” and will blow this off as “more tyranny”.

  8. Yup, this was one of the predictions that always scared me. I remember Al Gore talking about this 25 years ago. I wish he would have been elected US president back then. *sigh*

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